Elisa V. Borah, Ph.D.

Elisa V. Borah, MSW, PhD is a research associate professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, and the director of the Institute for Military and Veteran Family Wellness, a joint initiative of the Dell Medical School Department of Health Social Work and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work.

Borah conducts research to identify, implement, and evaluate programming and supports for military members, veterans, spouses and their families. Current research efforts include studying the impact of peer and social support for military and veteran spouses, self-care practices among military spouses and how best to support military spouses transition needs after military life. Borah also studies how to improve engagement of concerned significant others in veteran suicide prevention practices and research. In 2015, Borah developed the Veteran Spouse Network (VSN), funded through an Engagement Award from the Patient Centered Outcome Research Institute (PCORI), to engage veteran spouses in defining programmatic and research needs to better support veteran families in Texas, and throughout the country. Through the VSN, Borah implements program supports for spouses and couples and studies how peer support can improve veterans’ and veteran spouses’ quality of life and improved mental health. Borah chairs the annual Military Social Work conference at The University of Texas at Austin. She previously served as director of research at the Ft. Hood site of the STRONG STAR PTSD Research Consortium, a Department of Defense consortium at UT Health San Antonio.